Kraft Deems Hockeyville USA Contest Winner Arena Unfit, Moves Penguins Preseason Game

The Penguins will "no longer host" a preseason game against the Blues at Rostraver Ice Garden in Belle Vernon, Pa., which "won the NHL's Kraft Hockeyville USA contest," according to Rosenberg & Peirce of the PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW. The Penguins and Kraft said that the arena was "not equipped at this time" to host the game, which will now take place at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry, Pa. The Ice Garden, which "opened in 1965 and once hosted Penguins practices, won $150,000 in capital improvements" from the contest. It still will "hold fan activities from Sept. 21-24, including a Penguins practice session." Ice Garden Owner Jim Murphy said that he wasn't "given specifics of the rink's shortcomings for the preseason game." Murphy added that any fans who bought tickets for the game at Rostraver will be "bused about 65 miles from Rostraver to the Lemieux complex" (TRIBLIVE.com, 8/2).